Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) ceased to operate on April 1, 2013 when the eight forces and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency merged to form a single service known as Police Scotland.

ACPOS was the collective organisation of Chief Constables, Deputy Chief Constables and Assistant Chief Constables from the eight police forces in Scotland and the Assistant Chief Constable of the British Transport Police in Scotland.

Formerly a staff association, in 2006 it was incorporated as a private company limited by guarantee. In 2009 it gained charitable status thus saving thousands of pounds in VAT. ACPOS evolved to be the strategic body which oversaw and co-ordinated all aspects of the direction and development of the Scottish Police Service as a whole. Senior support staff and superintending ranks were also involved in its business.

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) was the professional voice of police leadership in Scotland. It worked in partnership with central and local government to set strategic objectives for policing in Scotland and to deliver better integrated services for Scotland's communities. It commented upon police reform, published policies and campaigns on issues of importance.^[1]

Scottish Constabulary crest

The Scottish Constabulary crest was designed by Mr Cairns, Art Master at Dumfries Academy in the early 1930s at the request of the Chief Constables' (Scotland) Club to be a badge to be identifiable with the Scottish Police Service.

This came about at a time when there were significant numbers of mergers of police forces around Scotland and more were in the offing. The design therefore would be capable of being adopted as a standard hat badge by police officers around Scotland, thereby avoiding the expense of producing new hat badges whenever two or more police forces amalgamated. Each force generally had its own distinctive cap badge, usually featuring the coat of arms or insignia of the City, Burgh or County which it covered.

The design comprises a Scottish thistle in a wreath of thistle leaves, all on a scroll tablet with the Latin motto: Semper Vigilo (Always Vigilant), and surmounted by a royal crown.

As originally designed the badge featured the Imperial Crown (Tudor Crown) but was not universally adopted until the regionalisation of the Scottish Police in 1975. The badge was then modernised and the Scottish Crown applied.

The badge is now worn by all police officers in Scotland, in metal by constables and sergeants, and in an embroidered version by inspector ranks and above. UK-wide police forces operating in Scotland, such as British Transport Police, MOD Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary however continue to wear their own force badge.

In 2000, John Reid, then the Secretary of State for Scotland in the British government, gave the following written answer to a question in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom:

"The crest of the Scottish police service incorporates the Crown. The eight Scottish police forces have a common cap badge incorporating a representation of the Scottish police service crest. Two of the eight forces (Lothian and Borders Police and Fife Constabulary) have individual crests in the form of a coat of arms granted by the Lord Lyon. Both of these also incorporate the Crown."^[2]

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